Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 307 Playing to Strengths and Avoiding Weaknesses (Bonus Chapter 310 for the Alliance Mainstream)

The next morning, he had already run three hundred miles and arrived at the small town base. When he stepped onto the twenty-story building again and looked down at the entire town, he was also assessing his gains and losses.

In fact, Liang Yuzhi has already made it very clear that if they move here, they will need a skilled administrator to manage the more than 1,300 free people.

After all, this is a three-part group. The Scarface camp must have harbored hatred towards him, but they were helpless because they were too few in number and consisted mostly of the elderly, women, and children.

The eastern camp has now become his loyal subordinates, all of them full of fighting spirit and hope for the future.

Even the 208 people who arrived later quickly and well integrated into the group.

The reason is simple: they are the abandoned and exiled, and they will harbor deep resentment towards the more than 800 free people in the small town base.

As for why?
Nonsense. Who knows what the future holds? Being forcibly driven out under such circumstances will leave a deep-seated sense of despair that will be etched into your bones, and you'll hold a grudge for life.

Do you want them to forgive you and pretend nothing happened?
Anyway, Li Wei believed that he couldn't do it.

Don't persuade others to do good without going through their suffering.

So now comes the problem.

Because of the basic humanitarian concern of the Alliance of Lords of the Heavens, he could not possibly use any cruel methods against the more than 800 natural people here. They had not experienced the danger of the city falling, had not been saved by Li Wei, and would not be grateful to him. In fact, they might even harbor resentment and miss the real Duke of Blazing Flame.

When they clashed with Li Wei's core, loyal free agents, should he handle the case impartially, or punish both sides equally? Or should he pretend to be confused?

Unfortunately, he was not a master of domestic affairs and could not come up with a brilliant plan that would ensure his core base was not wronged while also satisfying the more than 800 individuals.

It's even more impossible to build another underground base in this small town; the two sides can only live together.

Perhaps Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi both thought this was just a trivial matter that was bound to cause problems, which was in line with their nature.

But Li Wei simply couldn't bring himself to sacrifice the interests of his core supporters to appease outsiders who weren't yet part of his core group.

After much deliberation, he decided to give up the opportunity to migrate.

Rather than letting things tilt in your weak areas and end up in a mess, it's better to stick to the rhythm and track you're most familiar with.

Playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses is nothing to be ashamed of!
He went to the elevator and rang the bronze bell. A moment later, the elevator slowly went up and opened, revealing a beautiful breakfast, a pen, and a notepad inside.

It reads: "Dear Sir, how may I help you?"
Li Wei stepped forward and quickly wrote down a line of text.

"Five days later, conduct a routine check and send out all potentially infected individuals, gathering a total of one hundred. I will send them to Duke Hanbing as protection money for next year, and guarantee that this situation will not occur again this year. Of course, rest assured, the individuals sent away will receive excellent treatment, and they are living well now. Those who come to pick them up in five days will include acquaintances you know."

He wrote directly in Chinese characters, but when it landed on the sticky note, it became a strange and completely unrecognizable font.

He then rang the bronze bell again, turned around, went downstairs, and continued walking briskly back to the scavenging camp.

And he wasn't worried at all that those people wouldn't obey orders. This was a very interesting point. If Li Wei announced that they would have to give up an area in the underground base for 300 people to live in, they might fiercely resist, or they might secretly sabotage things. In any case, they would not cooperate.

However, if the old practices are maintained, they will be happy and complete the task very efficiently.

This can be considered Li Wei's little strategy: to gradually divide and erode his forces, thereby gaining a loyal base of supporters.

More than an hour later, the scavenging camp came into view in the distance, and even though he was still more than ten miles away, alarm bells had already rung in the camp, which showed that the camp guards were quite dedicated and alert.

"Pullingleng!"

Ah-Dai, who had slept in Li Wei's backpack all night, woke up immediately upon hearing the alarm bell, excitedly flapped his wings and flew away, feeling a sense of joy as if he were returning to his hometown.

A moment later, the bell rang again, and the alarm was lifted.

When Li Wei arrived outside the town, Li Yue had already led Thomas, Leon, and Zhao Xuanxuan to come and greet him from a great distance.

Upon meeting, without saying a word, Li Yue rushed up and gave him a tight hug.

There were no vulgar thoughts or superb acting skills involved, and none of them were necessary, but both Li Wei and Li Yue understood the meaning behind the hug.

Over the past twenty-odd days, not only has Li Wei been suffering, fighting, and battling for the future, but Li Yue has also been worrying, struggling, and suffering.

She had essentially allied with Li Wei and genuinely admired him. She and Liang Yuzhi had already decided to help him steal the base, but Li Wei resolutely refused, so she chose to respect his decision.

However, even if Li Wei was full of confidence, she didn't dare to be truly confident.

Perhaps only when I see the nationwide announcement will my heart truly be at ease.

The complexities involved are difficult to explain.

"It's alright, everything's fine!"

Li Wei said softly. The next moment, under the watchful eyes of Li Yue and the others, he summoned a new development card and calmly said, "I need to build a one-star magic mine here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint golden beam of light shot into the sky from the Explorer Card, seemingly piercing through the planet's atmosphere, triggering some mysterious and unknown barrier, and then bouncing back. "Buzz!"

The card vibrated and hummed, then a beam of light shone, covering an area of ​​twenty meters in radius, and then a group of five people appeared out of thin air.

The leader was clearly a spellcaster, but not a witch; he was a man. When his hawk-like gaze fell on Li Wei, he suddenly had the illusion that his fate was adrift and his future was completely seen through.

Is this the spellcaster's inspiration?

Li Wei immediately calmed himself down and was glad that he had been wearing the title of Flame Baron all along, otherwise he would have been really afraid that this guy would use his intuition to analyze everything about him.

This feeling is really awful.

"Li Wei?" the other party asked slowly.

"It's me. May I ask who you are?"

"You don't need to know who I am. I've come on a mission to build a one-star magic mine in your territory. Do you have any specific requirements regarding the location of the magic mine?"

"I--"

Before Li Wei could speak, Li Yue had already quickly traded three thousand standard gold coins to him. No way, you want me to bribe you?
"I do have some requests, please follow me."

Li Wei smiled broadly and gestured for her to join him. He was sure Li Yue wouldn't harm him, so she would surely be lenient with him in these minor, harmless situations.

So when the spellcaster happily walked around the town with Li Weiyi for a while, his smile became even brighter, because Li Weiyi had bribed him with 5000 standard gold coins.

However, he made no promises and did not make any specific requests. He simply got to work with his four apprentices.

The location where he built the magic mine was right at the initial circle of light, which means that this guy did nothing at all and still managed to extort 5000 standard gold coins from Li Wei.

"Don't underestimate the importance of choosing the location of the magic mine. There's a lot going on here. If we don't bribe him today, he can easily reduce the production of pure magic by slightly shifting the location. This is an unspoken rule, and I've suffered a great loss because of it before. I certainly won't let you suffer the same loss."

At this moment, Li Wei and Li Yue had returned to the fifth floor of the camp. After the former activated a 4-star conspiracy card, Li Yue calmly explained, "Managing a territory is not that simple. But I'm curious, why didn't you choose to migrate? I thought you would migrate your territory to the small town base."

"I still want to play it safe," Li Wei said simply, and her reason was just as straightforward.

"I understand now. You're really good to your own people! I think this place is pretty good too. We've already got the advantage of timing and the support of the people. Even if the location isn't quite right, it shouldn't be a big problem."

Li Yue smiled. Wasn't this the very reason she admired and was most satisfied with, and the reason that ultimately led her to choose to cooperate with Li Wei?

This isn't because he's foolish and rich; it's the charisma of a leader.

There's no such thing as innate loyalty, and who is born to be the protagonist?

Ultimately, it all comes down to self-interest. Only when people are certain that their interests will be protected and that future benefits will increase will they remain steadfast in their support.

In this respect, Li Yue felt inferior, and Liang Yuzhi was even less capable. It wasn't that they couldn't think of this problem, but rather that they were used to categorizing it as a common problem that could be solved in a few words.

But for the next few years, or even decades, it will be impossible for her, Liang Yuzhi, Thomas, Lyon, and Zhao Xuanxuan to stay in this territory permanently, and the same goes for Li Wei.

Those who truly reside permanently in this territory, who serve as its core leaders, and who manage this territory are always the free people.

They are not NPCs.

Human hearts cannot withstand testing.

A single disappointment can turn into a huge rift and divide in the future!

They only know how to consider the pros and cons from a data perspective, are obsessed with and complacent about playing power games, but are blind to the vibrant souls right next to them.

Over the past few months, this scavenging camp has become a haven of hope for people who have been ravaged by the apocalypse and nearly numb by repeated waves of despair.

They gradually became familiar with the place, with each other, and with their respective positions and responsibilities.

Over the past month, they have fought side by side countless times, relying on each other's presence amidst fear and worry to rekindle hope and reignite the flames of battle within their hearts.

They are human beings!

Perhaps even the most weary body and the most numb soul need redemption, and can be redeemed!
The fighting spirit they displayed was something that both Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi admired.

Perhaps they were initially inexperienced, but in the month of fighting, led by a group of elite free soldiers, and through their collective efforts, they have indeed undergone a complete transformation.

And at this very moment, when they were filled with countless imaginations and hopes for the future, you coldly issued an order for everyone to migrate to the place once ruled by the Flame Duke, who had once filled them with despair, hatred, and fear.

This seemingly reasonable approach is actually the biggest irrationality.

Have you forgotten who your core supporters are?
(End of this chapter)